Cleveland Browns: 3 defensive rookies with breakout potential

Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah, LB, Cleveland Browns

While the defensive line and secondary for Cleveland had their fair share of hardships last season, the linebacker position maybe saw the most ups and downs. For that reason, the Browns took two more linebackers to add to the unit, giving the team five linebackers taken over the last three seasons between the second and fifth round.

One of those two players taken was Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah, a player with first round talent that fell to the second round due to a health concern. The Cleveland Browns were the beneficiary of the fall in the draft and now Owusu-Koramoah has a huge opportunity ahead of him.

Playing 25 games over two seasons for Notre Dame, Owusu-Koramoah was able to log 142 tackles, including 80 during the 2019 season alone. He was also able to register 24.5 tackles for loss in addition to seven sacks, five forced fumbles, four fumbles record and an interception.

The NFL is trending towards linebacker-safety hybrids and that’s the role that Owusu-Koramoah will play in Cleveland. He has shown the ability to drop back in coverage while also being a threat in the pass rush as well. He could be the best rookie on the defense given the opportunity he could be presented.